Armored gun-tower.



Patented lune 1'0, 902.

R. GEELHAAR. ABMOBED GUN TOWER.

(Application filed May 22 1901.)

(No Model.)

' WITNESSES i I113 ATTORN Nu. 70!,870. Patented lune l0, I902.

R, GEELI-IAAR.

ARMOBED GUN TOWER.

. (Application filed Kay 22, 1901.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-$hee1 2.

Fig: 2.

[NVENZOR Mrs A TZ'ORNE r No. 70l,870.

R. GEELHAAR. ARMOBED GUN TOWER.

(Application filed May 22, 1901.) (No Model.)

Patented June In, I902.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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\fl 5 1 30: 6 d M I WITNESSES izvvzzw'oR wen cefizam".

11/6 ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT RENE GEELH-AAR, 0 WINTERTHUR, swirznn'nnuo.

' ARlVl ORED e u N-TOW'l-ZR.

srncrrrcnrxou forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,870, datedTunedO, 1902.:

Application filed May 22, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RENE GEELHAAR, a citizen of Switzerland, residing in-Winterthur, canton of Zurich, Switzerland, have invented 5 a certain new and useful Improvement in Towers, of which the following is a descrip tion.

. My invention relates to armored gun-towers inwhich the gun-casin g is adapted for rotation to vertically as well as horizontally; and the object of my-invention is to provide an armored tower which can be located on mountain slopes and peaks or in valleys or any place where firing at great angles below or i 5 above the horizon maybe desirable ,for the protection of certain points, at the same time offering a small target to the enemy. I attain this object by the armored gun-tower described herein. and shown in the accompanyo ing drawings, in'which Figure 1 is a general sectional'view in which parts are shown in different sections to make them better understood. Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view at right angles to that of Fig. l 55 and on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of one of the spring mountings for the gears; Fig. 4:, a section of the same on the line a b of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 a sectional View of the gun-casing alone with the gun. p 36 Like numbers refer to like parts through 1 out the several views. 7 i,

In the accompanying drawings,.1 represents a base or bed of concrete or granite upon which is'snpported the hollow standard 2. Upon this standard is mounted a hollow circular upright composed of the parts 3and 4, held together by screws. This upright is adj ustable vertically by the screws 5, having antifriction bearings. The carriage 6 has at 40 its base a structure of profile iron 7, onto which the operatingrplatform 8 is attached, and at its upper part a. casting 9, containing that part of the driving mechanism by which the verticalmovement of; the gun-casing 10' 5 is caused. .The carriagfeiis supported on this,

standard at 11 bya'n antifriction-vbearing and on the rails 12 with rollersjl b. 4 The rollers 14 prevent the carriage from tipping or being lifted through the efiects of a shotorfthegire 5o 2 coi 1..

cide with an opening guide rollers, whereas engageih feathers.. p One orlmorehatchways l5,' w;hi-ch coin-5 {has a co1-1ar.38, whichjfor1ns a pressuresurp in th'e". fi'oor i5, arelconr; t nected with undrgroundpassagespr tunnels "studs-d1 and 42 Serial No. 61,480- (No model.)

from whencemen, ammunition, and guns to be interchanged may, find their way to the interior of the tower. To aitordv protection to the carriage, I provideior a cover or fixed tower 16, of massive metal, so constructed as to present'an oblique surface to impinging shots. The base 17 of this tower is substantially supported on the bed 1 and laps over it far enough to protect the bed in the same level withzthe carriage. Upon thisbase 17 the upper part 18 is so mounted on ribs 19 as to leave openings orsighting-slots 20, throughwhich observations may be made. The relativeposition and form of the base and upper part of this armor-tower. issuch that it is clear that only a direct shot would enterthe slot and all glance shots wouldstrike other parts, as shownin the arrow-lines on both sides of the drawings, and prevent particles of shot from entering. (See Fig. 1.) This-relative position also afiords observation in. a great angle, as shown bythe dotted lines 21and 22. A mirror 23 isnsed where the eye cannot be placed near enough. The rotating motion is given the carriage by the hand- .wheel 24, andthe worm 25, which is fixed in bearings on the baseofthe carriage and which operate on the fixed worm wheel26. .1.

The gun-casing lO rests on the; rollers 27 and 28, which latter are mountedon thecarriage 9. The driving mechanismforthe'guue, casing in the verticalplane consists in two sets of clamping-rollers129 and: 3O, v which at the same timehelp to hold the. gun-casing downward against the rollers 27 and28. 'One set of these rollers serve as pressurefandthe other are actual driving rollers or gears. Theshocks to which the gun-casin'gis subj ectrequires averyel astic but powerful construction "of all mechan-i ism connectedthere'with, and I therefore con.- struct the driving mechanism 01?,rollers27' and-'28 as shownin Figs. 1-and2 inviewand f-T e e ei e sha face -for the spring;39., A bearing 49-, yith;

hower-are a ings being attached to J The top of ried in bearings 43, forms the support for the bevel-gearing 35. A worm-wheel 36, which is part of the small bevel, engages a worm 37. The studs 44; of the bearing 33 are supported in bearings 45, which are also made elastic by the springs 46, mounted in the easing 47. It will be understood that when through any cause the gun-casinglifts slightly the springs 39 will cause it to return in place, whereas these springs, in connection with the springs 41, counteract a dislocation of the gun-casing, the shafts 32 being pivoted on the studs 41. The worm 37 is mounted on the shaft 48 and supported in the bearings 38, which are part of bearings 43, all these bearthe top of carriage 9, as shown best in Figs. 1' and 2. A handwheel 49 is mounted on the shaftaiS and serves for the operation of the one set of friction rollers or gears, whereas the other set merely serve as hclddowns.

The gun 50 is so mounted in the gun-cas ing 10 that it may slide'therein. The gun is screwed or otherwise attached in a sleeve 51, which is fitted to slides in an opening 52 of the gun-cash; g 10. This sleeve is only guided at the bottom and sides, and two sets of springs 53 and 5% hold. it down. rear end of the casing are rollers 55. Trunnions 50 in the slots 57 of the gun-casing, which are located in the turning-point, serve as supports orbearings for the sighting mechanism 5S and for the arm 59, containing the rollers 60 and (31. Over each of these sets of rollers 60, 55, and (31 a steel band 62 passes and extends downward alongside of the sighting-tubes 63 to a cross-head 6%. A pistonrod 65, connected to this cross-head, extends downward and has on its lower end a piston 66, running in a cylinder (57, filled with oil or any other fluid. This cylinder is supported in antifriction-bearings in the hollow upright of the standard 2. A weight 68 isattached by means of a chain to said piston-rod. The ac tion of recoil is as follows: The gun slides back in the guides and draws the steel band 62 with it, thereby raisingthe piston 66, which, by the way, has an opening, so as to allow the oil to pass to the other side, at the same time lifting the weight. After the momentum hasbeen destroyed the weight-will bring the gun in its orignal position. It can plainly be seen that with this kindof a recoil-check the gun-casing is a little shocked by firing. I provide the gun-casing with a projection 69 to protect the barrel of the gun as much possible against impinging shots. the carriage 9 contains a circular opening 70, through which the gun may be loaded or exchanged, the position being that shown in the dotted line 71.

The sighting mechanisms 58, of which there are two, which are mounted in the gun-casing,

10, have the purpose of aiming the gun directly instead of solely with scales 72, that show the angle of inclination, and scale 73 b which the direction horizontally may be s'e Near the It consists of an upright tube 6- ,with an opening '74: on its lower end, through which the operator may see the aim with the aid of the mirrors 75 76 77 7S. The mirror 78 is held in the tube 7.), which, having mounted on it the gear 80, maybe turned by gear 81, which latter is operated from the interior of the tower by a hand-wheel, (not seem) a rod 82, extending upward, and the bevel-gears S3. The wire string 8% being mounted toward the mouth of the gun completes the parts belonging to the sighting 01' aiming device. Aiming is done as follows: The carriageandgun-casing are revolved by the hand-wheel 24 until the target'or point to he fired upon appears on the mirror 75, at the same time coinciding with the line of the wire string, that also appears on the mirror. The inclination is calculated or read from the map, and with the aid of the scale 72 the gun is given the correct position independently of the position of sighting-mechanism. By usinga hair cross in place of a single Wire a direct aim may also be taken. I provide for two sighting mechanisms, one on either side of gun-casing, the reason being that should one be struck bya shot the other is available, and in case of both being put out of operation the gun may be used as a blind gun, the aim being made with the aid of maps and scales on the carriage and gun-casing and theobserving-slots. The exposed parts are easily interchangeable, and by turning the carriage and gun-casing so the side to be repaired is protected against the enemy these parts may be replaced from the outside in a very short time.

By making a few changes in the construction of my tower it may also be applicable to mortars and howitzers.

I do'not wish to confinemyself to the outer shape of my tower or the gun-casing, it being so formed to suit the circumstance. On a mountain slope, for instance, the whole construction would probably beexposed on but one side and not extend from the slope, so that as little as possible would be exposed Furthermore, I do not wish to confine myself to the construction of parts mentioned in my specification.

The importance of the armored tower I describe herein is very great, since to my knowledge no gun mounted in a protected tower can be inclined at so steep nor high an angle and since the relative size of the exposed surface is so small at the same time oifering great resistance that a destruction of the tower or its pa: is is practically impossible.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In an armored gun-tower the combination ofa standard,with a rotatable carriage mounted thereon, a shield, a gungcasing exterior ofsaid shield arid means for rotating said carriage horizontally. and gun-casing vertically above and. below'the horizontal plane, sub stantially as described.

2; In an armored gun-tower the combination of a standard,with rotatable carriage mounted thereon, a gun-casing containing a gun running in a slide in said casing, arecoil mechanis1n,a mechanism for rotating said carriage horizontally and gun-casing vertically above and below the horizontal plane, and a shield protecting said mechanism, said gun being mounted exterior of said shield, substantially as described.

In an armored gun-tower the combination of a standard, a carriage mounted thereon, a

gun-casing containing a gun running in a slide in said casing, a fluid recoil mechanism,

means for rotating said carriage horizontally and gun vertically above and below the horizontal plane, a shield protecting said mechanism and a sighting or aiming mechanism operated from within said shield, substantially as described.

4. In an armored tower the combination of a standard, a carriage mounted thereon, a guncasing containing a gun, a recoilmechanism a shield, said shield containing observing slots, a sighting mechanism, means for rotating said carriage and means for rotating and fastening said gun-casing which latter is composed of two sets of gears in a spring-mountwheel and hand-wheel, substantially as described.

casing containing a gun, a recoil mechanism,

a shield and means for rotating said gun-casing vertically, said recoil mechanism consist- 7 ing of rollers over which a band passes, the latter being connected to apiston contained in a cylinder of fluid, substantially as described. l

6. In an armored tower the combination of a standard, a carriage carrying an operating platform, a gun-casing, a shield, and means for rotating said gun-casing vertically above and below the horizontal plane, substantially as described.

7. In an armored tower the combination of a cone-like shield with a gun mounted at the apex thereof and mechanism for swinging the same vertically above and below the horizontal plane, substantially as described.

R NE GEELHAAR.

Witnesses:

J. BASLER, W. GYR. 

